I GOT a rather nasty phone call yesterday from a colleague who has been trying to incite me to a verbal tussle, all because I told him I didn’t think the Los Angeles Lakers would allow Jordan Clarkson to suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship set Sept. 23 in China.
“Who told you this? Where did you get this? Of course he can play for Gilas, not only in the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship, but even the Brazil Olympics if the Philippines qualifies. The Lakers will allow him to play for Gilas,” the scribe was almost hysterical.
I refused to allow him to get my goat, but I sure was getting his. Not wanting to engage in a lengthy debate, I challenged my colleague to a friendly wager, but he said he is not a gambling man.
I told him I was only talking from experience and gut feel when I said I didn’t think Clarkson would be allowed to play.
Before I go any further and lest the readers misunderstand, I want to make it clear that like every Filipino, I want Clarkson to play for Gilas. I just don’t think his mother NBA team will allow him to. It turns out that his father was the first to go against it.
My colleague was gloating as he demanded my surrender. Two days earlier, before he left for LA to talk with Jordan’s father, Mike, SBP vice chair Ricky Vargas assured the Inquirer there is a good chance that Clarkson will be allowed to play for Gilas.
“We just have to surmount certain challenges. One thing certain, we are trying our utmost best and will leave no stone unturned,” Vargas said.
The Clarkson saga at this point was now expected to end on a positive note.
However, two days ago, sportswriter Nick Giongco, who regularly covers the boxing beat, decided to tap his Los Angeles Times connection to get in touch with John Black, vice president for public relations of the Lakers. He wanted to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth what the real score was concerning Clarkson.
Black’s reply: “Clarkson is free to play for Gilas in the Fiba Asia Men’s Championship in China as long as he is back in Los Angeles by Sept. 28.”
Giongco said the Lakers have a busy calendar starting Sept. 28 as there are numerous mandatory events on tap, including their training camp in Hawaii, where two pre-season games are going to be played against the Utah Jazz.
In short, if Jordan’s father allows him to play for Gilas and he signs up with the team, he will only be able to play in Gilas’ first three games, which is against Palestine on Sept 23, Hong Kong on Sept. 24 and Kuwait on Sept 25. Sept. 26 is a rest day. The second phase starts Sept. 27, but Giongco assumes that Clarkson will be flying out of China by this time.
“US West Coast is 15 hours behind Manila. If it’s night time of Sept. 28 in LA, that’s morning of Sept. 29 here in Asia,” said Giongco, who thinks that the Lakers will stick to the Sept. 28 ultimatum.
“Training camp for an NBA team is sacred. While it is not yet the start of the season, preseason games are equally as important.”